This is a target for the present program and if it is successful, there should be little trouble attracting more industry participation, he thinks, and thereby relieving the government from much of the financial burden. •
Michael Heylin named editor of C&EN Michael Heylin has been named editor of Chemical & Engineering News by the ACS Board of Directors. He has held the title of acting editor since February, when Albert F. Plant, C&EN's former editor, was appointed publisher of the magazine. Before February, Heylin had been managing editor of C&EN.since 1973. A native of England, Heylin received a B.S. degree in chemistry from the University of London in 1954. He joined the C&EN staff in 1963 in the Washington headquarters office. He transferred to the magazine's Chicago office the same year, where he remained until he moved to the New York office as bureau head in 1967. Heylin was promoted to assistant managing editor for industry and government coverage in 1971, following a stint as managing editor of Chemical Executives Audio News and C&EN senior editor in the New York office. Before his promotion to the magazine's managing editor, his duties had expanded to include international and ACS news coverage. Heylin is 46 years old and has an avid interest in long-distance running. •
Esmark ups ante for Inmont takeover bid Esmark says that it is increasing its bid for Inmont. Inmont says that it isn't sure and is rejecting the bid. The confusion lies in the way that Esmark, a holding company with interests in food, energy, personal products, and chemicals, offered $25 a share for the specialty chemicals company. According to a letter to stockholders from the Inmont management, under Esmark's offer any dividends paid by Inmont after June 3 would be deducted from the $25 price. Inmont also maintains that Esmark has not, in reality, made an offer. And, according to the proposal, until the offer is made Esmark reserves the right to modify, postpone, or abandon it. The $25-per-share bid is up $2.50 from the $22.50 a share Esmark of8
C&EN June 13, 1977
Inmont is recovering after a poor showing in 1975 % change 5U
Earnings 30
Sales
40
20
0
-20
1972
1973 1974
1975 1976
fered in February (C&EN, Feb. 28, page 8). Esmark announced that if Inmont turns down the bid it will go ahead with a tender anyway after complying with state statutes regarding corporate takeovers. The letter to Inmont stockholders concluded that "Esmark's increased offer confirms our [Inmont's] judgment that the earlier proposal was inadequate. The increase of $2.50 a share does not change the board's earlier conclusion." Inmont is recovering nicely after a poor year in 1975 when sales fell 3.8% and net income dropped 11%. In 1976 sales were up 18% to a little more than $534 million from the 1975 level of nearly $452 million. Net income jumped 72.6% from $11.6 million in 1975 to $20.1 million in 1976. The company is continuing its upswing this year. First-quarter earnings for 1977 were the highest ever achieved by Inmont, up 18% over first-quarter 1976. Income for the quarter was about $5.2 million compared to $4.4 million for the first quarter of 1976. Inmont is just one of a number of medium-sized chemical firms that Wall Street analysts say are ripe for takeover mainly because their stock price-to-earnings ratio is well below average. •
Three indicted for fouling sewer system A federal grand jury has indicted three employees of a Louisville, Ky., chemical waste disposal company for allegedly dumping 6 to 10 tons of two toxic chemicals into the city's sewer system, eventually polluting both the sewage treatment facilities and the Ohio River. The case is the first to be prosecuted under the 1972 Water Pollution Control Act Amendments, which are the basis for most of the federal water pollution standards.
Donald E. Distler, Charles W. Horn Jr., and Joseph A. Hess, all employees of Kentucky Liquid Recycling Co., are named in the indictment. Distler is president of the company and Horn is secretary-treasurer. Five counts of polluting federal waters have been brought against them. The charges, all misdemeanors, carry a maximum sentence of one year in jail and a $25,000 fine for each offense. They are accused of dumping a tankcar-load of hexachlorocyclopentadiene (HCP) and octapentadiene (octa) into the Louisville sewers at an abandoned warehouse site last March. HCP is used commercially in the manufacture of pesticides, dyes, and flame retardants. Octa, a byproduct in producing HCP, has little commercial importance. They can cause skin blistering and eye irritation with slight exposure, and memory loss, pulmonary edema, and death at larger concentrations. Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District authorities discovered the contamination in late March when workers at the treatment plant began developing skin and eye irritations, and a foul-smelling blue haze formed over the plant's sedimentation tanks. So far 35 employees have received medical attention because of exposure to the chemicals. Their health will be monitored by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration to evaluate possible long-term effects. Rapid contamination of the sewage treatment facilities caused a shutdown of the main treatment plant for more than two months. About 85% of the city's sewage treatment facilities resumed operation earlier this month after a massive cleanup effort. The rest of the system, mostly downtown sewer lines, still awaits cleanup. During the interim, the city's sewage was pumped directly into the Ohio River, a procedure allowed under water pollution regulations when operation of the treatment facility would endanger the health of its employees. The chemicals, which are about twice as heavy as water, settled to the bottom of sewer lines and mixed with sludge there, creating an extremely difficult cleanup task. The Metropolitan Sewer District so far has isolated 6 million tons of contaminated sludge and 250 tons of other contaminated material that must be disposed of. District officials estimate cleanup costs for the sewer facilities will reach $7 million. And the Environmental Protection Agency, which will dispose of the contaminated sludge and other material once it is removed, has made available $4 million for its part in the project. •
